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First Block
Capital Jericho Open
2018
30 Oct - 03 Nov, Jericho Club, Vancouver,
Canada, $11k |
Final:
Mustonen the deserving Jericho
Champion
Richard Yendell reports
Jericho Tennis Club was jammed packed last night for the final
of the First Block Capital Jericho Open. There was a great buzz
in the air as everyone was trying to get a seat for the matchup
between Finland’s Henrick Mustonen and Canada’s Mike McCue.
We all knew that Henrick was going to open the court up and put
pressure on Mike from the get go and that’s exactly what
happened. Henrick likes to use his working boast often to get
his opponent scrambling up into the front court. He hits it with
a flat face to keep the ball down maintain the pace of play and
then looks to jump on his opponents retrieval to send them
running back into the backcourt.
Mike for the most part was keeping his length tight and cross
courts wide to avoid this treatment from the Finn. But as the
rallies continue it was inevitable for Henrik to get on top of
something and begin pressuring the Canadian. It’s a tough mental
battle for McCue to keep the court so closed off and being
patient trying to test Henricks fitness levels and ability to
maintain the high tempo. Every time he chases a ball that goes
short he knows he has Henrick looking over his shoulder already
anticipating his next shot.
After losing the first game Mike tried to be a bit more
aggressive and started to push back on Henrik. He started to
send the ball in short off the volley drop and added a few
attacking boasts of his own. Unfortunately his constancy wasn’t
the same as Henrik’s and Mustonen was able to counter attack
when Mike would like the ball sitting up just a little too much
in the front.
I honestly don’t think Henrik called a let the entire
tournament. He always plays the ball and tries to keep the
rallies going which is great for the crowd and for the game of
squash. His relaxed and stone faced demeanour is really a treat
to watch and his ability to take the ball early and out in front
on the volley or on the rise before the top of the bounce was
the key characteristic that separated him from the rest of the
field this week.
In the end it was Mustonen who claimed the title and we couldn’t
have had a more deserving champion this week. He was seeing the
ball really well this week and we hope to see him climbing back
up the PSA rankings in the months ahead!
A special thank you to Sean Clark and First Block Capital as our
title sponsor as well as West Coast Fishing Company, Salming,
Promospaien and Lush who all contributed to the success of this
great event, it wouldn’t have happened without their support.
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  Jericho
Open
2018
30 Oct - 03 Nov, Vancouver, Canada, $11k |
Round One
30 Oct |
Round Two
31 Oct |
Quarters
01 Nov |
Semis
02 Nov |
Final
03 Nov |
Fernando Magdaleno (Mex) *
11-9, 11-7, 11-9
Mohamed Nabil (Egy) |
[1] Charles Sharpes (Eng)
11-4, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8
Mohamed Nabil |
[1] Charles Sharpes
12-10, 11-7, 3-11, 11-7
[6] Tristan Eysele |
[1] Charles Sharpes 1-9, 11-9, 8-11, 11-5
[3] Mike McCue |
[3] Mike McCue
11-7, 11-6, 11-6
Henrik Mustonen |
Joeri Hapers (Bel) *
11-4, 11-2, 11-2
Jason Hua (Usa) |
[6] Tristan Eysele (Rsa)
11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 10-12, 11-8
Joeri Hapers |
Noah Browne (Ber) *
7-11, 11-1, 9-11, 11-3, 11-4
Sarfaraz Ahmed (Can) |
[8] Matias Tuomi (Fin)
13-11, 11-5, 12-10
Noah Browne |
[8] Matias Tuomi
11-6, 11-5, 11-6
[3] Mike McCue |
Hugo Varela (Esp) *
11-4, 11-7, 15-13
[wc] Jamie Ruggiero (Usa) |
[3] Mike McCue (Can)
11-5, 11-7, 11-6
Hugo Varela |
Marco Toriz-Caddo (Mex)
4-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-3
Mark Fuller (Eng) * |
Mark Fuller
11-6, 11-7, 11-4
[3] Nick Sachvie (Can) |
[3] Nick Sachvie
11-7, 11-9, 11-9
[7] Mario Yanez |
[7] Mario Yanez 11-3, 11-2, 11-7
Henrik Mustonen |
[wc] Gavin Maxwell (Can)
11-8, 11-8, 11-6
Cameron Seth (Can) * |
Cameron Seth
11-3, 5-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-1
[7] Mario Yanez (Mex) |
Matthew Reece (Aus)
11-2, 11-7, 11-3
Micah Franklin (Ber) * |
Micah Franklin
11-5, 11-6, 11-9
[5] Andrew Schnell (Can) |
[5] Andrew Schnell
11-9, 11-7, 11-5
Henrik Mustonen |
Henrik Mustonen (Fin)
11-3, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4
Aditya Jagtap (Ind) * |
Henrik Mustonen
10-12, 11-6 rtd
[2] Chris Binnie (Jam) |
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Final : Mustonen beats McCue
Semis:
McCue takes out to seed as
unseeded Mustonen makes final
Richard Yendell reports
Another great night of squash here at Jericho in front of a
jammed packed crowd. A very special thanks to our feature
sponsor this evening the West Coast Fishing Club for providing
the food and beverage for all of our VIPs and ticket holders.
The West Coast Fishing Club is no ordinary fishing destination.
They operate three luxury fishing lodges located on the remote
shores of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, on the northwest coast
of Canada. Their exclusive wilderness destinations offer the
best Salmon and Halibut fishing in the world, while offering
guests a five-star luxury experience with memories to last a
lifetime.
Mike McCue 3-1 Charles Sharpes
First game starts at a high tempo with cracking drives bouncing
around the court. Both players were keeping it tight and the
rallies were cautious. Sharpes looked like he was wanting to
take some initiative but again when the tempo is this high it is
very difficult to force the ball in short without risking the
chance of leaving yourself open for a counter attack.
Mike made some adjustments from his match yesterday and while he
played very steady he did make use of the front court more when
the opportunity presented itself. Charles had he early lead and
was up 7-4 but McCue found his grove and a few errors forced
from the Englishman and some opportunistic counters rewarded the
Canadian with the first game 11-9.
The second game started much the same, Charles had the early
lead, he played some very nice drops on the forehand side from
deep in the court and generally dictated the attack but was
unable to really get McCue on the end of any long hard rallies.
He was part of the ‘West Coast Fishing Club’ for a few lets, as
he was yesterday, and at one point the majority of the crowd
moaned recognizing he should have played the ball and rightly
rewarded a ‘no let’ for his appeal.
McCue took the second in similar fashion to the first. Playing
steady and controlled and just pushing things and being
opportunistic as the game was extended. Charles wasn’t moving
great and was caught hanging deep on the T when Mike countered
or worked the ball in short with a soft working boast.
Game three saw Sharpes find his form and hit a few crisp
winners. Mike perhaps guilty of getting a little too comfortable
and confident and trying to ‘make things happen’ rather than
just ‘letting things happen’. He was pushing the play a little
too much meant he presented Sharpes with a few too many
opportunities to attack from prime positions and this is not
something you want to do with a player of Shapres’ caliber.
There crowd was happy to see this battle continue into the forth
after a good hour of squash.
Determined to close it out Mike settled down and went back to
what was working in the first couple of games. Charles perhaps
struggling a bit physically at this point you could tell it was
only a matter of time for the Canadian. 3-1 the final score and
a great result for McCue as he rolled into Saturday night’s
final.
Henrik Mustonen 3-0 Mario Yanez
Henrik has picked up a lot of fans here at Jericho this week. He
appears to be a quiet and even-tempered individual however he
players with such a high tempo and in a very aggressive manner
which is so engaging to watch.
It just seems like he is playing squash at a faster gear than
anyone else in the tournament and this perhaps reflects that
fact that he was once #35 in the world. His swing is dynamic,
and it changes from shot to shot to take the ball incredibly
early even when he is in a full lunge.
Yanez was so controlled and difficult to break down yesterday in
his match against Nick Sachvie but today Henrik just took things
to another level. He chopped in low kills and volley Mario’s
returns so early that the Mexican was left scrambling to get to
the back of the court for the next shot. Even when Yanez was
able to get on top of his Finish opponent Henrik had such deft
touch in the front of the court and his open racquet face just
cut the ball so short above the tin Mario just didn’t have an
answer to get the ball back.
There is an ease and fluidity in Mustonen’s swing that is really
enjoyable to watch, and it certainly makes me think about a
larger event here at Jericho Tennis Club in the future where we
can see more players of this caliber compete here at the club.
Great tournament for Mario a quality professional who was a
pleasure to watch this week, but Henrik was just too strong on
the day and certainly the favourite to capture the First Block
Capital Jericho Open in tomorrow night’s final happening here at
7pm.
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Quarters:
McCue carries home hopes
into Jericho semis
Richard Yendell reports
A great night of squash at Jericho Tennis Club Thursday with our
amateur tournament kicking off and quarterfinal action happing
in the First Block Capital Jericho Open 2018. Tonight was
‘Billet Appreciation Night’ and a special thanks to all of our
billets who have taken care of these touring pros this week! The
squash gets better and better every day and Thursday the crowd
was treated to some truly world class squash!
Friday night’s semi-final matches are intriguing with top seed
Charles Sharps of England matched up with Canadian Mike McCue.
McCue will be the underdog in this match but will definitely be
Sharps’ toughest test to date. Can the Canadian extend the
rallies and counter the Englishman’s compact and controlled
attack? In the other semi-final, a very strong and fit Mexican
will take on a free shooting Finn in what should be a really
entertaining encounter.
Sharpes 3-1 Eysele
A very good match up to start the evening, Sharps is the number
one seed but will definitely seems be challenged to win this
title. Both players were mixing up their length particularly
down the backhand wall with attacking kills to the mid court
followed by deeper length to the back. The players were bumping
into one another as the traffic lanes to and from the ball
seemed to switch between two lanes and one from time to time.
Sharps showed a couple of lovely holds and forehand flicks from
the front right corner of the court which caught Eysele and made
the difference in a close first game.
The second game started with Sharps perhaps fishing for a few
calls. I really felt he should have played the ball on a number
of his let calls where he in fact ran through the interference
to the ball. Tristian got an early 4-0 lead as Sharps was
perhaps becoming too distracted by the referee decisions.
Gradually the Englishman got himself together and worked his way
back into the game. Tristian was retrieving well but Charles
started to focus more found a nice rhythm. When he is able to
create time and space for himself his swing becomes more compact
and deceptive and he works the ball into the front corners and
midcourt angles nicely.
I think Tristian went a little too much into retrieval mode in
the second but came back more aggressive in the third. He was
talking to himself at 2-0 trying to push on and gradually moved
up 6-2 with a quick boast which caught Sharps going the wrong
way. Charles checked out as the game got away from him and was
walking to the door before the last rally was over.
There was still a lot of bumping going on in the match and the
referee started to get tougher on the players with some no lets
in the forth. Tristian was starting to loose a bit of his bite
and you got the sense that Charles was determined to end this
match in four. After being down midway through the game Tristian
started to get more aggressive again and tucked in three nice
drop winners from the front third of the court. He was right
back in the game but a fat service ended up in the nick and
Sharps took control once again. The match ended with a couple of
more nicks including match ball which send the Englishman into
the semi-finals.
McCue 3-0 Tuomi
This was a much different match with steady long rallies played
mostly in the back half of the court. The pace and tempo was
high but neither player was really risking or willing to go
short with any confidence. McCue definitely seemed to be in
control of the tempo and Tuomi didn’t do enough to disrupt the
Canadian’s rhythm. Tuomi provided a few more errors which really
hurt him and showed in the score line.
Yanez 3-0 Sachvie
My opinion this was the match of the night tonight, it started
quite even with both players feeling each other out. Yanez
started to take control of the rhythm and definitely seemed to
control his tempo a little better than Sachvie. Nick looked a
little too relaxed and it showed with some careless errors that
eventually cost him the game. He did have some great spells of
control over the Mexican but Yanez was retrieving the ball so
well and with such good balance just lobbing and pushing the
ball back. Eventually Sachvie would find the tin or just leave
the ball a little too open for a counter.
The quality squash continued in the second game with both
players pushing hard. Sachvie now had stepped his game up and
was pushing hard to get the advantage but Yanez just continued
to absorb the pressure and just always seemed to have an answer.
Mario was arguably the steadiest player of all this evening and
the crowd was thoroughly enjoying these two professionals going
toe to toe on the court. Nick was hitting hard but often times
is length was just not getting through the court and hanging
around the service box which allowed Yanez to stay in and often
reverse handle on the rallies.
Down two love Nick was still fighting to get himself back into
the match and was up 5-3 in the third and looking like he was
going to extend to a forth but five rallies later he was down
again 8-5 and on the ropes. ‘Super Mario’ really played a fine
match tonight and an impressive 3-0 after coming off a marathon
five game match last night.
Mustonen 3-0 Schnell
The Canadian champion was looking to make his way into the
semi-finals but in his way a Finish free shooter who just seemed
to come up with shots out of no where. Henrik is such a fun
player to watch as from the first rally he seems intent on
pressuring his opponent and opening up the court with precision.
The first game went back and forth and was close to going to a
tie breaker but Mustonen was able to raise his game just a
little bit higher when he needed.
Schnell came back hard in the second and started to push Henrik
more around the court. Henrik showed his defensive skills and
was able to handle all of the Canadian’s pressure and often
times countering out of no where with some deft touch or quick
snapping wrist shots from a fully extended position. He is very
crafty with his racquet and has a unique style which is going to
be tough for anyone to handle this week. You could see that
Schnell was starting to get a little frustrated and began making
some uncharacteristic mistakes.
The Canadian was able to win some rallies in the third with a
very nice backhand drop which perhaps he should have utilized
more throughout the match. Henrik seemed to be more relaxed now
and really just flowing though his shots and playing with such
ease. The former world #35 really showed his class tonight.
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